International Night

It's not often you walk into a room and find Pippy Long Stocking, Dame Edna Everidge and an Aussie Drover sharing a meal, but Friday was no ordinary night at DLC...

As a culturally diverse college, every year students get together to enjoy the traditions, dress and food of other students and their nationalities. More than anything, the night is a celebration, (although a little healthy patriotism never hurts anyone!)

Held in the Dining Hall, and with the help from the Alliance catering team, we enjoyed a range of varied and distinct foods hailed from all over the world, Italy to Asia, America to Sweden. We laughed at some of the less successful costumes and other times applauded the intricate and fascinating traditional dress from the far reaches of the globe. Whilst much of the night was just good fun, there was a serious side. In 2008 Australia opened its doors to over four hundred and thirty thousand overseas migrants. That is over one thousand and one hundred new Australians each day. This is not even counting the number of international students on student visas. Now, more than ever, Australia is a multicultural community. International night was a celebration of this fact.

Perhaps a highlight of the night occurred close to the evenings close. Over pecan pie, we were treated to enthusiastic renditions of the Swedish, American, Chinese, Brazilian, Scottish, Norwegian and New Zealand's national anthems. But more than any other, it was the Australian anthem that shook the building. Almost the entire college stood to belt out the tune at the top of their lungs. It was a moment that everyone shared and a great nod towards the meaning of International night.

So, even in the end, after The Spice Girls and Kiss had exited the building, the night remained in our minds as a spectacular reminder of everything that is great about the College and indeed Australia. Forgive my sentiment, but the words of a particular song seem appropriate here.

We are one, but we are many. From all the lands on earth we come.

Tarquin Halls-Corbett
Media Liaison Officer